Church in action

SCIAF is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in Scotland and its work is guided by Gospel values and Catholic social teaching.

Human dignity – we believe that all people are created in the image and likeness of God and have the right to live in dignity and free from poverty. We help people develop the skills they need to take care of themselves and their families.

Love one another – Jesus taught us that we must put our faith into action by helping others. The early Christian communities often helped each other and SCIAF continues to do this work today.

Option for the poor – Jesus gave special attention to the poorest people in his day including widows, orphans, people with disabilities and foreigners. He also reached out to those society had cast aside including people with leprosy. SCIAF works hard to make sure the money donated to us helps the poorest people in our world today – those widowed or orphaned by HIV/AIDS, refugees forced to leave their homes because of war and people with disabilities who continue to feel left out in our modern world.

Love without conditions – Jesus taught us to love without conditions. SCIAF gives help freely to those who need it most. We don’t force people to pray or to attend Church. SCIAF helps people from all religious backgrounds as well as people of no faith because we believe that everyone is special and unique.

Community and participation – we work in partnership with local people in developing countries to help them build healthier, happier and better communities free from poverty. We work hard to make sure as many people as possible get a say in how SCIAF’s money will be used to help their community.

Economic justice - the Church believes that people should be paid a living wage for the work that they do so they can live life to full as Jesus intended. It also asks rich countries to trade fairly with poorer countries. This is why SCIAF is such a big supporter of fair trade and also supports the Trade Justice Movement which works to make the world's trading system fairer for poor countries. We also continue to push for the unfair and unpayable debts of the poorest countries to be cancelled.

Solidarity - Jesus taught us that we should care deeply about those who need our help. He said that whenever we help people who are hungry or thirsty then we are really helping him. Through our magazines, education materials, campaigns and visits, SCIAF encourages people across Scotland to make a real and lasting commitment to help those in the poorest countries.

Peace - many people do not have peace because their country is at war or because they are afraid of what might happen to themselves or their families. The Church teaches that peace and freedom from fear are very important. That's why SCIAF supports many programmes that help people who have been affected by conflict. We also support peace building programmes to help prevent war breaking out in certain areas.

Find out more about the Church’s teaching on poverty >>